Estimated reading time: 14 minutes
This post is part of a series analyzing several aspects of one of the recognizable parts of the TTRPGs we all love – the dungeons. The articles can be read in any order and they will be cross-linked when necessary. Throughout the series (and elsewhere) I use “dungeon” as a technical term and it can be used to describe any clearly defined environment containing multiple non-random encounters. These include natural caves, mines, keeps and castles, crypts, temples, ships and other vehicles, and many others.
When the party skips your puzzle
You prepared a situation where the party has to get across a chasm, or out of a deep pit. There are several solutions using the environment, character abilities and skills, or the items they found earlier. A classic environmental puzzle.
You forgot the party gained a level, and the wizard now has the Fly spell. They’re handed a coil of rope and sent upwards, where they tie it to a conveniently protruding protrusion. The rest of the party climbs up and you’ve just lost a chunk of content.
Of course they did nothing wrong, they used a tool at their disposal the correct way. That should be rewarded, if anything. Though perhaps next time you can anticipate the use of magic and create the puzzle or situation in a way that prevents such easy solutions.
“Bypass” spells
Magic is a staple in fantasy, and we usually wouldn’t want it any other way. It opens up a myriad of possibilities, from wielding terrifying destructive powers, to reshaping the environment. There are however times when magic narrows down the course of a narrative. Depending on the workings of magic in the setting there might be codified spells, or more “freeform” casting, and both have their distinct effects.
The type of magic used in D&D, often called Vancian, uses spells with a defined set of parameters. When you cast an offensive spell, you know the range, area of effect, damage amount and type. You usually can’t use it for much else. Perhaps set something on fire with a fire spell. This kind of magic has firm rules, so you can account for its use and plan accordingly.
The other way of using magic is what we can call “freeform” magic. There are no codified spells wit set parameters. Instead you describe what you want to achieve, and use the corresponding school, circle, or whatever your powers are classified by. The DM (or in this case anything other than a DM) decides whether it’s within the character’s power, and after your roll announces the result. It’s not as easy to plan the encounters and puzzles with this in mind. Player creativity is sometimes boundless, and this is the case where it definitely should be rewarded.
Since we’re mainly dealing with systems using Vancian magic on this site, I will continue in this way. So, spells it is. Which spells cause the most trouble? Well of course the ones that enable you to move in unnatural ways. Some are available quite early and don’t do that much of a difference. You even want them used. Others, while received at higher levels, make quite a mess of your environmental puzzles. Let’s have a breakdown of the culprits.
Jump
The 1st level transmutation spell Jump is a great utility spell. It is available early and the effect can be used multiple times for a minute. A character with a strength score of 10 could do a 30 feet running jump, or 15 feet standing jump. That’s a lot. A ranger with above average strength could clear a lot of chasms quite easily.
Spider Climb
Channel your friend’s inner Spider Man with this handy 2nd level spell. Or a spider horror, as they might look to onlookers while they somehow climb walls without using their hands. Presumably they sprout some spider limbs that do the climbing. Whatever the case, the spell lets a character get to a lot of otherwise inaccessible places, and it lasts up to an hour. Plenty of time to do what needs to be done, and you can cast it on someone other than yourself.
Levitate
Another 2nd level spell, Levitate has loads of uses. You can float a creature or an object up to 60 feet from yourself. That should cover a lot of gaps and height differences. The levitated creature is rather helpless and depends on the caster for movement, unless it can pull or push itself against something. For a 2nd level spell it offers a lot, though.
Misty Step
The first available teleportation spell, Misty Step enables the caster to move 30 feet to a place they can see. You can get much more out of Spider Climb, Jump, or Levitate, if the conditions are favourable and you have time. But if time is running out, a Misty Step across a hazard might save your neck.
Rope Trick
Another 2nd level spell that could help in certain situations. As long as you have a rope up to 60 feet long, you can hang it upright in thin air. It’s held by an extradimensional pocket that you can hide in. You can also just use it to climb where needed and jump off the rope.
Fly
One of the 3rd level spells casters are waiting for, Fly opens many doors. A real game changer when it comes to mobility, this spell can wreck your environmental puzzles in numerous ways. At higher levels you can affect additional creatures, possibly making it better than Dimension Door (see below).
Gaseous Form
Not only Fly becomes available when you get to 3rd level spells. Gaseous Form gives you wings as well, but also makes you, well, gaseous. Good for escaping and squeezing through small openings. To interact with the world you have to end the spell, however. Unlike others in this list that you can benefit from multiple times.
Water Walk
Water Walk is more specific in its utility than Fly or Spider Climb. The name suggests water, but you can cross any liquid while under the effects of this spell. And it can target up to ten creatures. That large pool of acid? The party can get across with safe feet. Quicksand? Lava? Deep snow? They can walk over all of it, though each poses its own hazards other than drowning.
Dimension Door
We’re getting to the big league spells with this 4th level conjuration spell. A proper teleport with a range of 500 feet. The range isn’t that great outdoors, but should be enough for your indoor needs. You can take one other creature with you and both of you can carry your full capacity. An excellent utility spell, though you have to be a 7th level full caster to get it.
Far Step
In Xanathar’s Guide to Everything we can find what’s essentially a continuous Misty Step. You can blink 60 feet each turn for up to 1 minute or while you retain concentration. The blink is a bonus action, so you can cover a lot of ground while also performing another action on each stop. The total distance is shorter than Dimension Door and your friends have to wait while you’re blinking around, but it’s still a neat spell.
Passwall
Passwall is a 5th level wizard exclusive spell that creates a tunnel up to 20 feet long in a wall. The description specifies wood, plaster, or stone, but one could argue the possibility of its use on other materials. With this your don’t have to worry about locked doors, or any doors when you think about it. Any wall with thickness under 20 feet can be bypassed by this spell. At 9th caster level you would expect this kind of stuff, though.
Arcane Gate
We’re arriving into high magic territory. Arcane Gate essentially creates two portals similar to those from the Portal game. They should conserve the direction and velocity of a creature or object entering them. The difference is that you can’t stick the portals to a surface. They float in the air above aground, and you can rotate them as a bonus action. With this many environmental puzzles cease to be puzzles, but since it’s a 6th level spell, it is to be expected.
Wind Walk
Another spell that already has a toned down version in Gaseous Form, this 6th level transformation is the ultimate escape and traveling aid for parties. The caster can affect up to ten other creatures. All of them benefit from the effects of the Gaseous Form with a flying speed of 300 feet. Anyone affected can revert to normal state and back for the whole duration of the spell, 8 hours. The transformation takes one minute, but it’s a very small price to pay for the utility it brings.
Countermeasures
Your goal as a DM is for everyone to have fun (including you). You manage this by creating and running an engaging adventure. The outcomes of various actions are not guaranteed, and failure should always be an option, though not necessarily fatal. Each character has a set of tools at their disposal, guided by their player’s skill and creativity.
This creativity should be supported and rewarded. Sometimes the tools at disposal block creativity, leading to situations and encounters being solved too easily. That’s where you have to be creative, and use the tools *you* as the DM have at your disposal. Some are better, some are worse. The order in which you find them below is roughly worst to best.
DM Fiat
By far the worst possible option. I’m mentioning it here as a warning, as this will not lead to fun or positive feedback from your players. In short, when a player finds a bypass you didn’t account for, you deny its use. The player wants to cast a spell and you flatly state they can’t use it now. Never do this, and instead try anything other from this list.
Environmental restraints
By environmental restraints I mean conditions that prevent the use of a bypass that are not DM fiat and might make sense. Still they are rather cheap and obviously are there only to block a particular tool. A good example is some sort of magical field, or technological device, that disables magic. You could cast Fly, but that crystal on the other side of the pit cancels your spells. In some settings too much technological devices could do the same to a caster. Or there’s a small turret that zaps everyone trying to cast a spell, not doing much damage, but interrupting the spell.
It is fine when this is foreshadowed. If the party is trying to rob a vault secured against all magic, it makes sense they should only rely on their non-magical prowess. In a regular dungeon where magic is okay everywhere *but* the one place it would be really handy? I’d say it’s badly designed.
Spell caveats
The bypass spells offer great utility in what they’re intended for. They are not complex solutions, and sometimes need other arrangements. These might be as simple as a piece of equipment (rope, pitons, bucket, sled), or another spell. That brings us to resource management, when casters have to think twice before wasting a spell when another solution was possible (see below).
Water Walk enables to walk on the surface of the liquid, but does not protect from other effects it might possess. The PHB mentions heat from lava, but acid vapours are also bad for your health. There might be things living in the liquid you’re trying to walk over, and some might be hungry.
Spider Climb needs walls. What if there are none that can be reached? Or the walls might also be dangerous. Covered in toxic mushrooms or territorial vermin, or crumbling when crawled over, sending the unlucky adventurers to the pits below.
Resource management
Probably in any game, not only those with Vancian magic, there are limits to magic use. Whether it’s daily uses, spell points, stamina, or blood, you can’t have your every action be spellcasting. Most casters probably have to think how they spend their magic, same as any other resource. Depending on other factors, such as party composition, the caster might have to split their magic uses between offensive, defensive, and utility.
You can work with this knowledge to create dilemmas, decisions that have to be made either beforehand (memorizing spells), or at the moment (other forms). At higher levels many foes can have resistances and immunities to normal attacks. Spells might be needed to defeat them. Enemies or the environment might on the other hand present dangers that have to be countered by magic. Or there are simply multiple environmental puzzles, so at least some need to be solved without magic.
Puzzle design
This is what I believe to be the grail you should strive to reach when designing environmental puzzles. Or anything, really. Let’s say there’s an obstacle the party has to overcome. Don’t set it up that simply getting through with one character is enough, not even the whole party. It needs to be *solved*, and that might mean a lot of different things. Perhaps you need to move some NPCs or animals across as well. They won’t climb 60 feet of dangling rope, or agree to be changed into mist. You need to make a safe path.
Or perhaps there’s a large object that’s needed somewhere across the pit, maybe two rooms further. It’s too large and heavy to carry on back, fit inside a portal, and it can’t be changed into mist or given spider legs. You need to make way for the huge boulder, or portable generator. You might be able to bypass the next puzzle with a spell again, but now that’s two spell slots that could have been used differently. It is all connected, and each solution might affect the next puzzle.
This can be taken a bit further making multiple environmental puzzles part of one large puzzle. The diverted flow of an underground river fills a pool that raises a platform, upon which the fallen column for another puzzle can be rolled. The new flow also powers an elevator that goes not only up, where you could fly or climb, but also down. The way down was concealed by the elevator platform. Descending the elevator shaft might prove to be a shortcut, or a bonus area with clues, lore, a helpful NPC, or just extra loot.
It is a lot more work, creating a complex environmental puzzle where the pieces are interconnected. And the players might find yet another way to bypass the situations you so meticulously prepared. Keep in mind that even if it doesn’t work out the way you intended you still have your notes. It was probably a good exercise, and you can publish it! Or take some parts out, mix and match with other stuff, and use in a different campaign.
Conclusion
Magic is an essential part of fantasy, yet it can make your prepared content “skippable” too easily. There are several ways to keep environmental puzzles relevant and interesting even on mid party levels. Try designing your puzzles with magic and its limitations in mind. That way you can offer puzzles that have to be solved with brains instead of spellcasting rolls.
The guidelines presented in the article are by no means exhaustive, and I would love to read your thoughts in the comments! It’s also up to you as the DM to know your players and arrange things accordingly. Some players will never appreciate environmental puzzles, and would prefer to skip them with a spell. That’s fine, but since you’re reading this, either you, your players, or both parties like to solve an environmental puzzle at least from time to time.
Rashundai Games 